Indiana Medicaid Estate Recovery

Recovery is generally blocked or delayed for: Surviving spouse: FSSA does not recover any of the recipient's assets as long as the recipient is survived by a spouse, the claim cannot be enforced against real or personal property necessary for the support, maintenance, or comfort of the surviving spouse (IC 12-15-9-2), and the office may not file a claim against the estate of the recipient's surviving spouse (IC 12-15-9-5); Child under 21: no recovery while the recipient is survived by a child under 21 years of age, and the claim cannot be enforced against property necessary for the support of a dependent child under 21 (IC 12-15-9-2); Blind or disabled child: no recovery while the recipient is survived by a child who is blind or disabled, and the claim cannot be enforced against property necessary for the support of a dependent who is nonsupporting because of blindness or other disability (IC 12-15-9-2); Sibling with an equity interest: FSSA may not obtain a pre-death lien, and may not enforce one, while a sibling who has an ownership interest in the home and who lived there continuously beginning at least 12 months before the recipient was admitted to a hospital, nursing facility, or intermediate care facility resides in the home (IC 12-15-8.5-3(3) and 12-15-8.5-8(2)); Caregiver child: a lien may not be enforced while a child of any age resides in the home who lived there for at least 24 months before the recipient was admitted to a hospital, nursing facility, or intermediate care facility, provided care that delayed the admission, and has lived there continuously since the admission (IC 12-15-8.5-8(1)); a lien is also barred while the recipient's spouse, child under 21 or disabled child, or parent lawfully resides in the home (IC 12-15-8.5-3); Undue hardship: the office may waive recovery in cases of undue hardship (IC 12-15-9-6); FSSA states it will not seek recovery that would cause an undue hardship for surviving beneficiaries, and a waiver application must be submitted within 90 days of the date of the claim by phone at 877-267-0013 or email at [email protected].

Indiana recovers the total amount Medicaid paid on behalf of a recipient after the recipient turned 55, including managed-care capitation payments made for members of the Healthy Indiana Plan, Hoosier Healthwise, Hoosier Care Connect, and PathWays. The amount is allowed as a preferred claim against the recipient's estate under IC 12-15-9-1, payable after funeral expenses (statutory cap $350), last-illness expenses authorized or paid by the office, and expenses of administering the estate. Indiana uses an expanded estate definition (IC 12-15-9-0.5): the claim reaches the probate estate plus real property that passed to a survivor through joint tenancy with right of survivorship (if the joint tenancy was created after June 30, 2002), any real or personal property conveyed through a nonprobate transfer (revocable living trusts, POD and joint bank accounts, transfer on death deeds and titles), and sums due under an annuity contract purchased after May 1, 2005. The estate recovery unit's claim is barred unless filed within nine months after the date of death (IC 29-1-14-1(g), as amended by P.L.160-2026 effective July 1, 2026; the deadline was 120 days under P.L.99-2024). Time limits do not apply to assets that were not reported to the county office of the Division of Family Resources (IC 12-15-9-0.6(d)). FSSA may also place a pre-death lien on the real property of a recipient who is permanently institutionalized (IC 12-15-8.5).

Yes. Indiana offers an undue-hardship waiver. Contact Medicaid Estate Recovery Program, Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) at 877-267-0013 to request the waiver and ask about deadlines.

Medicaid Estate Recovery Program, Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA), phone 877-267-0013, https://www.in.gov/fssa/ompp/medicaid-estate-recovery/.